U.S. Taps CIA Director for Fresh Mideast Hostage Talks |
CIA Director William J. Burns will travel to Europe in the coming days for talks on a potential deal to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip and commit both warring sides to a pause in fighting, media outlets including the Washington Post and New York Times reported. Burns is due to meet with Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari officials. In November, he helped broker a deal that led to a weeklong pause and the release of more than one hundred hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. The United States seeks a longer halt in fighting in this round of negotiations.
Egypt and Qatar have served as interlocutors between Israel and Hamas since Hamas’s October 7 attack sparked the current war in Gaza. Tension between Israel and Qatar looms over the latest peace talks after Qatar accused Israel this week of hampering efforts to release hostages. Israel has reportedly proposed a two-month pause in fighting, while Hamas has called for a permanent cease-fire. |
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“Qatar is pragmatic and opportunistic more than ideological; it accommodates to changes in its geopolitical environment and adapts quickly in search of influence,” Tel Aviv University’s Yoel Guzansky writes for Foreign Affairs. “Once the hostage issue has been resolved and the war is over, however, the international community must condition Qatar’s involvement in postwar Gaza on a change in its policy toward Hamas.”
“Internal pressure from the [Israeli Defense Forces] is building on [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to prioritize swapping hostages,” CFR expert Martin Indyk posted.
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Senior U.S., Chinese Officials to Discuss Houthis in Backchannel Talks |
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will discuss Houthi attacks (WSJ) on Red Sea shipping in bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok today and tomorrow, U.S. officials said. Washington has called for Beijing to pressure Tehran to rein in the attacks. Both Sullivan and Wang are due to independently meet with Thai officials.
Tuvalu: Citizens of the Pacific Island nation are voting today (Nikkei) in parliamentary elections. The results could determine the future of a security deal with Australia that would allow Tuvaluans to migrate there as climate change threatens their ability to live on the island.
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India Rejects Pakistani Accusations of Extraterritorial Killings |
Pakistan’s foreign secretary said it had “credible evidence” (The Hindu, PTI) that links Indian government agents to killings of two Pakistani men associated with militant groups on Pakistani territory last year. Yesterday, India’s foreign ministry said Pakistan was spreading “false and malicious anti-India propaganda.”
France/India: France will open new pathways (Indian Express) for Indian students to get educational visas and aims to welcome thirty thousand Indian students by 2030, French President Emmanuel Macron announced today while on a two-day visit to India.
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Middle East and North Africa |
ICJ Orders Israel to Contain Death in Gaza in Preliminary Ruling on South African Case |
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) declined to throw out a South African lawsuit alleging Israel has committed genocide in its ongoing war with Hamas and issued provisional orders (Reuters) that Israel limit civilian deaths and allow more aid into Gaza. The court did not order a cease-fire as Pretoria requested. The court also called for the immediate release (WaPo) of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Israel has called South Africa’s allegations “grossly distorted.”
In this video, CFR expert David J. Scheffer discusses South Africa’s lawsuit at the ICJ.
Iraq/U.S.: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said yesterday that talks will begin (VOA) in the coming days to wind down the 2,500-troop U.S.-led military mission in Iraq and transition to a bilateral partnership. Earlier this month, Iraq’s prime minister said he wanted to “put an end” to the U.S.-led coalition presence in the country following a U.S. strike on an Iran-backed militia in Baghdad.
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CFR’s Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins discuss rebel groups gaining ground in Myanmar, the EU meeting on aid for Ukraine, Kenya’s high court ruling on its multinational mission to Haiti, and more. |
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Mali Junta Scraps 2015 Peace Deal With Rebels |
Military leaders said yesterday that they ended (Reuters) a 2015 UN-brokered peace deal with rebels in the country’s north. Tensions between central government authorities and the Tuareg rebels have grown as Mali’s military rulers have expelled French and UN forces in recent years.
Burkina Faso/Russia: Russian troops flew into Ouagadougou on Wednesday as security ties between the two countries continue to warm, Reuters reported. Burkina Faso’s junta expelled French troops from the country in 2023, provoking speculation that Burkina Faso would seek a closer partnership with Russia.
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French Court Vetoes Part of New Immigration Bill |
France’s Constitutional Council ruled yesterday that several elements right-wing lawmakers had pushed to add to a sweeping new immigration bill are unconstitutional (France24, AFP, AP). These include provisions limiting immigrants’ access to social welfare and making it harder for them to bring their families to France.
Ukraine: Kyiv will start building (Reuters) four new nuclear reactors this year at a power plant in the country’s west, Ukraine’s energy minister said. Two plants will be constructed using Russian-made technology imported from Bulgaria, and two will be made using U.S.-made technology.
In this In Brief, Lindsay Maizland explains how nuclear energy can reduce Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.
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Kenyan Court Rules Against Police Deployment to Haiti |
Kenya’s High Court ruled that sending a Kenya-led multinational mission to Haiti would be illegal (BBC), as the National Security Council does not have the authority to send police outside of Kenya. The opposition leader who brought the case forward said that Nairobi should prioritize its own security challenges. The UN Security Council had backed the plan last year. For the Africa in Transition blog, Robert I. Rotberg and CFR expert Ebenezer Obadare unpack the challenges of Kenya’s plan to save Haiti.
Brazil/Guyana/Venezuela: Foreign ministers of Guyana and Venezuela said they would work to peacefully resolve (Bloomberg) a territorial dispute over the Guyana-controlled Essequibo region at a meeting yesterday in Brazil. The meeting followed a mutual declaration of intent to avoid violence in December. |
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U.S. to Pause Approvals for New LNG Export Terminals on Coastline |
Today’s decision froze (FT) pending applications for seventeen projects; climate activists had called to block new export terminals to avoid locking in reliance on fossil fuels. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the pause would not affect already-authorized exports. The United States is the world’s biggest exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG). |
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Vox looks at how African countries aim to build self-sufficient public health systems as they contend with disease outbreaks, vaccine inequity, and booming populations. |
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